Radiation protection at synchrotron radiation facilities

A synchrotron radiation (SR) facility typically consists of an injector, a storage ring, and SR beamlines. The latter two features are unique to SR facilities, when compared to other types of accelerator facilities. The SR facilities have the characteristics of low injection beam power, but high stored beam power. The storage ring is generally above ground with people occupying the experimental floor around a normally thin concrete ring wall. This paper addresses the radiation issues, in particular the shielding design, associated with the storage ring and SR beamlines. Normal and abnormal beam losses for injection and stored beams, as well as typical storage ring operation, are described. Ring shielding design for photons and neutrons from beam losses in the ring is discussed. Radiation safety issues and shielding design for SR beamlines, considering gas bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation, are reviewed. Radiation source terms and the methodologies for shielding calculations are presented.     

Dosimetry for occupational exposure to cosmic radiation

In the course of their work, aircraft crew and frequent flyers are exposed to elevated levels of cosmic radiation of galactic and solar origin and secondary radiation produced in the atmosphere, aircraft structure, etc. This has been recognised for some time and estimates of the exposure of aircraft crew have been made previously and included in, for example, UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) publications. The recent increased interest has been brought about by several factors--the consideration that the relative biological effectiveness of the neutron component as being underestimated; the trend towards higher cruising altitudes for subsonic commercial aircraft and business jet aircraft; and, most importantly, the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in Publication 60, and the revision of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSS). In 1992, the European Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) established a Working Group to consider the exposure to cosmic radiation of aircraft crew, and the scientific and technical problems associated with radiation protection dosimetry for this occupational group. The Working Group was composed of fifteen scientists (plus a corresponding member) involved in this field of study and with knowledge of radiation measurement at aviation altitudes. This paper is based on the findings of this Working Group. Where arrangements are made to take account of the exposure of aircraft crew to cosmic radiation, dose estimation procedures will not be necessary for persons for whom total annual doses are not liable to exceed 1 mSv, and therefore, in general, for crew on aircraft not routinely flying above 8 km. Where estimates of effective dose and, in the case of female staff who are pregnant, equivalent dose to the embryo or fetus, are required (for regulatory or other purposes), it was concluded that the preferred procedure was to determine route doses and fold these with data on staff rostering.     

A position-sensitive detector for synchrotron radiation

A two-dimensional detector that gives an electrical signal proportional to the position of a light spot on a 1 × 1 cm² area has been developed. The detector is intended for position measurements of the beam in a synchrotron radiation source.     

A novel undulator-based PGM beamline for circularly polarised synchrotron radiation at BESSY II

We present the design of a beamline for circularly polarised radiation from an elliptical double undulator to be built at BESSY II. The UE56 undulator of Sasaki type will emit simultaneously two angularly separated circularly polarised beams of opposite helicities. The undulator will, through emissions in first, third and fifth harmonics, provide circularly polarised radiation in the energy range 89–1328 eV. The beamline essentially consists of a plane grating monochromator (PGM) working with collimated light and employing only one set of optical elements for steering and monochromatising the two beams. A high energy resolution from 6000 to 13 000 can be achieved at a flux between about 10¹⁰ and 10¹² photon/s, respectively. The helicity of circular polarisation can be switched dynamically in the beamline at a high rate (>100 Hz) by use of a suitable chopper. The degree of circular polarisation of the source ranging from 78 to 100% is well preserved by the beamline. In the worst case — at the lowest energy — the degree of polarisation is reduced by 5%. In the higher energy range above 357 eV the input degree of circular polarisation can even be increased by the beamline.     

UHV-type synchrotron radiation reflectometer

We designed a reflectometer for grazing-incidence X-ray measurements with a rotational feedthrough consisting of three welded bellows and a circle-type goniometer. This apparatus does not require differential pumping and is suitable for ultra-high-vacuum applications. With this reflectometer, we successfully performed high-precision synchrotron radiation X-ray reflectivity measurements on a thin iron-film under an ultra-high-vacuum condition.     

Focusing of synchrotron radiation

Focusing of the synchrotron radiation from a storage ring using a convex lens is geometrically analysed and tested. The source radiation is supposed to have a bivariate normal distribution in its phase space both vertically and horizontally. Its modification caused by a lens is calculated as a function of distances among the source, the lens and the image plane. It is shown that the horizontal image becomes sharpest when the source is focused on the image plane. The vertical image, however, is not sharpest under this condition. The vertical distribution has more information than the horizontal; we can derive the orbit dependence of the vertical profile and the angle distribution of the radiation changing focusing.     

Beam dumps design and local radiation protection at TERA synchrotron

The realisation of the National Center of Hadrontherapy was funded by the Italian Government in 2002. The Centre will be built in the area of Pavia (Italy). The synchrotron designed in the framework of this programme will accelerate protons and carbon ions up to 250 MeV and 400 MeV u(-1), respectively. Some of the main aspects which were taken into account in the design of the acceleration system are the patient's safety and the beam control. From this point of view an important role is played by the beam dumps in the synchrotron ring and upstream of the extraction system. In particular, an horizontal and a vertical beam dump will be installed in the synchrotron ring: the former will be used for lowering the beam intensity and the latter for beam abortion. The dump at the extraction will absorb the particles during the mounting and the falling ramps of the synchrotron magnetic cycle, thus extracting only the flat top of the ion spill. Beam dumps can produce intense fields of secondary radiation (neutrons, charged light-hadrons and photons) and high rates of induced activity, since they can absorb the beam completely. Usually they have to be shielded to protect the electronics during machine operation and to attenuate the radiation dose below the limits imposed by the law when the personnel access to the synchrotron hall. The part of the shielding design of the beam dumps concerning with the acceleration of protons was made using Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code. Both induced activity and secondary radiation were taken into account. The shields against secondary radiation produced by carbon ions were designed, referring only to secondary neutrons, taking double-differential distributions from the literature as sources for the FLUKA simulations. The induced activity from carbon ions interactions was estimated analytically, using the data generated by the EPAX 2 code. The dose-equivalent rates from the induced radionuclides were calculated at 1 m from the shielded dumps, taking into account the contribution of activated components of the synchrotron ring.     

Quantum efficiency measurement of CsI photocathodes using synchrotron radiation at BSRF

A quantum efficiency(QE) measurement system has been established for CsI photocathodes in the wavelength range of 120-210 nm by using the synchrotron radiation light source at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (BSRF). An AXUV100G photodiode calibrated by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) was used as the transfer detector standard to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the QE measurement. The dependencies of QE measurement on beam energy, vacuum pressure and bias voltage were studied in detail. The influence of photoionization in gas on the QE measurement was observed and is described. The surface morphological characteristics of both substrate and CsI film were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The QE results of differently prepared CsI photocathodes were compared, including: the printed circuit board (PCB) of FR-4 (Woven glass and epoxy)+Cu, FR-4+Cu/Ni/Au, and stainless steel substrates; a series of thickness from 60 to 600 nm; and the resistive and electron beam evaporation techniques.     

Spatial coherence of synchrotron radiation

The spatial coherence properties of a monochromatic component of synchrotron radiation from an insertion device in the Fraunhofer limit are analyzed in the general case when the coherence distance is comparable with the beam width, expressing them by simple products and convolutions of Fourier transforms and autocorrelations on the single-electron field amplitude and the electron-beam position and angular distributions. In particular, the Gaussian approximation is discussed, in which case the far-field amplitude satisfies the Schell condition (its statistical properties can be described by a coherence factor depending only on the difference of the reciprocal space coordinates), and this discussion leads to simple estimates of the coherence widths. The coherence widths deviate from the Van Cittert-Zernike values when one or more of the phase space widths of the electron beam are close to (or smaller than) the diffraction limit.     

Use of synchrotron radiation for studying multilayer nanostructures

We describe methods for using synchrotron radiation to study the metrological characteristics of multilayer nanostructures to be used as optical filters in the extreme vacuum ultraviolet range for solving nanoelectronics problems. For the synchrotron radiation metrology beamline, we have developed working standards for spectral irradiance and integrated irradiance.     

Magnet systems for the Daresbury synchrotron radiation source

The design, production and testing of the main dipole and quadrupole magnets for a 2 GeV electron storage ring are described, with particular emphasis on the integrated field performance including the optimisation of magnet ends. In addition fast pulsed kicker and septum magnets for control of injection and extraction processes in both the storage ring and its booster synchrotron injector are treated. All magnets are now installed and operating routinely in the new Synchrotron Radiation Source at Daresbury.     

Hard X-ray polarization measured with a Compton polarimeter at synchrotron radiation facility

A hard X-ray polarimeter with CdTe detectors has been developed for measurement of the degree of X-ray polarization at synchrotron radiation facilities. It utilizes 90° Compton scattering from the low Z targets. Measurements were performed at both facilities of the beamline BL38B1 in SPring-8 and the beamline BL14A in KEK-PF. The degrees of X-ray polarization for 20 keV X-rays are 99% and 82% at the BL38B1 in SPring-8 and BL14A in KEK-PF, respectively. The polarization degrees in the energy range of 15 and 40 keV correspond to 99.6±0.2% and 96.1±0.2% at the beamline BL38B1 in SPring-8. The analyzing power of the polarimeter was estimated by the Monte Carlo simulation with EGS4. The synchrotron radiation facilities provide highly polarized X-ray beams at energies above 15 keV.     

X-ray focussing for synchrotron radiation microprobe analysis at the SRS,Daresbury (UK)

A toroidal bent Si (111) crystal has been made and used to obtain a spot size reduction and therefore an increased flux density of synchrotron radiation for microprobe trace analysis. Measured beam profiles and fluxes are compared with the results of a ray tracing program, used to simulate the experimental situation. It is shown, that the spotsize has been reduced by a factor of 50 horizontally, and by a factor of 11 vertically, which is in good agreement with the calculations. It indicates a good shape accuracy of the doubly bent crystal. The measured photon flux density of 200 photons/(smA μm²) is shown to be sufficient to detect trace elements of ppm concentration in an organic matrix with a detection volume of the order of 10 μm diameter.     

Fast microwave detection system for coherent synchrotron radiation study at KEK: Accelerator test facility

A fast room temperature microwave detection system based on the Schottky Barrier-diode detector was created at the KEK ATF (Accelerator Test Facility). It was tested using Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR) generated by the 1.28 GeV electron beam in the damping ring. The speed performance of the detection system was checked by observing the CSR from a multi-bunch (2.8 ns bunch separation time) beam. The theoretical estimations of CSR power yield from an edge of bending magnet as well as new injection tuning method are presented. A very high sensitivity of CSR power yield to the longitudinal electron distribution in a bunch is discussed.     

Reflectance spectra of extreme ultraviolet mirrors for synchrotron radiation

Reflectance spectra have been measured for many materials in the wavelength range from 90 Å to 400 Å. The angle of incidence ranged from 20° to 85°. The samples were chemical-vapor-deposited silicon carbide (CVD-SiC), a single crystal of silicon with (100) surface, fused quartz, zerodur, pyrex, gold, platinum, copper and two kinds of steel. To obtain reflectances for surfaces for practical use, measurements were made on surfaces sufficiently exposed to air. Reflectances for s-polarized light (R_s) were measured for all samples. On CVD-SiC, gold and platinum, reflectances for p-polarized light (R_P) were also observed. At short wavelengths and large angles of incidence, the difference between R_s and R_P is small, and R_P happened to exceed R_s in contrast to the result from the Fresnel equation. This may be due to the deviation of the present surfaces of mirrors from an ideal plane. Reflectance spectra of surfaces prepared by some feasible techniques are also presented.     

Spherical-grating monochromator with a variable-line-spaced grating for synchrotron radiation

An optical design for spherical-grating monochromators for application to synchrotron radiation is presented. High spectral and spatial performance is obtained with a spherical variable-line-spaced grating coupled to a spherical mirror with its tangential plane coincident with the grating's equatorial plane. The monochromator works without an entrance slit in an off-Rowland configuration with a fixed entrance arm and demagnification on the exit slit. The law for groove-space variation of the grating compensates for the main spectral aberrations; spectral focusing in an extended energy range is ensured by a slight change in the exit arm with translations of the order of a few tens of millimeters. The inclusion of a spherical mirror ensures focusing on a plane perpendicular to the plane of spectral dispersion. The ultimate resolution is limited by the slope errors of a single spherical surface. The layout is applied to the design of a high-resolution monochromator for the 1000-250-eV region.     

Calculations for the availability of photoneutron using synchrotron radiation

The availability of the neutrons due to photonuclear reactions has been discussed by using synchrotron radiation with the beryllium targets. The superconducting wiggler with the magnetic field of approximately 10 T, which is installed into an 8 GeV class storage ring, can emit intense and high-energy photons to produce neutrons. By using MCNPX, the simulations were performed for the conceptual design of the neutron beamline to estimate the available intensity and to investigate the shield conditions. The results were discussed in comparison with other research reactors.